Lynx – Page 15 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Battle for Fans Tight in Twin Cities

Posted on May 21, 2018May 21, 2018 by David Shama

On a gorgeous Sunday yesterday we got a reminder about our crowded sports marketplace. The Twins and United played outdoors, while the Lynx opened their season indoors at Target Center.

The Golden Gophers and our seven pro teams (add in the Saints, Timberwolves, Vikings and Wild) often butt heads on the same day. The winners are Minnesota sports fans who have a plethora of professional and Gopher teams to follow in a society that thrives on choices and variety in everything from autos to wieners.

This area’s sports smorgasbord is among the most diverse in the nation. We also rank at the top with our lineup of (mostly) modern venues: Allianz Field, CHS Field, Target Center, Target Field, TCF Bank Stadium, 3M Arena at Mariucci, U.S. Bank Stadium, Williams Arena and Xcel Energy Center.

Ask the business side leaders of Minneapolis-St. Paul teams how they view all the competition from one another, and then get ready for a politically correct answer. They will tell you how great it is to have a rich sports landscape and that all the teams can be successful financially. The stock answers will include how they cheer for each other and wish for success by all.

Kumbaya? Maybe.

Truth is, if you eliminated several of the teams, popularity and box office success would increase for at least some organizations. Last Sunday the Twins drew 28,577 fans and the Lynx attracted 13,002, according to the Star Tribune. Despite playing in spectacular weather against border rival Milwaukee, the Twins missed a sellout by about 10,000 customers. The Lynx, in a seaon opener celebrating last year’s WNBA title and playing a top team in the Sparks, had over 6,000 seats that went unsold. The United reported a sellout audience of 23,117 at its temporary home at TCF Bank Stadium.

At 3.5 million, this is one of the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the country and that large population helps to support all of our entertainment options, but imagine if neither the Twins, nor the Lynx, or United, had box office competition in the spring and summer. What if the Gophers didn’t have to battle the Vikings, Timberwolves and Wild for football, basketball and hockey customers?

Some operations get hurt in this crowded sports marketplace that includes a battle not just to sell tickets but also to generate revenues from suites, sponsorships, venue and broadcast advertisers, concessions and merchandising. Despite four WNBA titles in seven years, the Lynx work hard to sell tickets including in the playoffs. The Timberwolves and Gophers, even with infrequent successes, have histories of disappointing their fans. Support for these teams can be iffy and conditional.

You can add the Twins to that list. They and MLB also face the problems of inclement weather, lengthy games and slow pace of play.

The Vikings win any and all popularity contests here. With a winning team and fabulous venue in U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings can withstand any number of competitors for the sports dollar in this marketplace. The NFL, despite its infamous reputation for head trauma, remains at the top of the American sports kingdom including in Minneapolis.

The Wild has produced competitive teams but little to cheer about in the playoffs. The organization, though, excels at customer relations and is in sync with the rabid hockey market in Minnesota. Hockey fans have a special passion for their sport and the Wild has never seriously broken the bond with its fanbase.

It’s niche loyalty that serves the Saints, too. The local independent baseball franchise’s shtick has branded the Saints as entertainment first, winning second. Comedian Bill Murray is an owner and there seemingly is no end to the gimmicks in the organization’s marketing plan. The Saints do it right, including dividing up their CHS Field seat allotment into thirds for season tickets, groups and individual sales.

Saints games are family friendly and tickets inexpensive compared with many of the offerings in this market. Affordable pricing is part of the United’s strategy, also. The second-year Minnesota MLS franchise is aiming to fill its stadium with what executives see as an unfilled opportunity to satisfy the existing and growing soccer interest in the state.

Part of what’s fueled the population growth in this area is an increasing immigrant population. Many of those newcomers love the “world’s sport”—soccer. A lot of immigrants are young and like other Minnesota millennials have grown up playing soccer.

Millennials, though, are an elusive target for some sport marketers. Baseball, football and golf all want to score with millenials who have a reputation for short attention spans. Ask a millennial if he watched a Twins game, or even the Vikings, and a predictable answer is he opted for a 25-second video recap.

For now at least there isn’t any downsizing in this busy sports marketplace that includes the Minnesota Whitecaps, the women’s pro hockey franchise that has been around since 2004. Leaders announced last week the Whitecaps are joining the National Women’s Hockey League. That’s the highest level of American women’s professional hockey, so we’re big league in that, too.

Expansion of the sports menu appears likely with Minneapolis-St. Paul trading the 3M Championship senior golf tournament for a PGA Tour event starting in 2019. More competition for the sports dollar locally but another option for the consumer.

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Top Prospect Follows Lindsay Whalen

Posted on April 19, 2018April 19, 2018 by David Shama

Paige Bueckers, the sophomore point guard from Hopkins High School who is among the most coveted prep basketball players nationally in the class of 2020, has a Lindsay Whalen jersey and autographed Whalen shoes in her bedroom.

Whalen, the Lynx WNBA champion point guard and former Gold Medal Olympics winner, was named University of Minnesota women’s basketball coach last week. “She (Paige) is excited for Lindsay. She has been a big fan growing up,” Hopkins coach Brian Cosgriff told Sports Headliners.

At this time of year, per NCAA policy, coaches like Whalen can’t contact high school sophomores. That doesn’t mean, though, Paige won’t be following the 35-year-old Whalen who not only will be in the news as Gophers coach but also while continuing her career this spring and summer for the Lynx as the team attempts to repeat as WNBA champs. “She is interested to see where Lindsay is taking the program,” Cosgriff said.

Bueckers frequently attends Gophers games so she is already familiar with the team and Williams Arena. But Cosgriff said don’t mark her down as a future Gopher yet because his all-state player is sorting through college options for now.

Those options include an offer from Connecticut’s storied program and legendary coach Geno Auriemma. He has been to Minnesota multiple times to watch Bueckers. “He’s a huge fan (of Bueckers),” Cosgriff said.

Count Notre Dame, Stanford and much of the Big Ten as schools wanting Bueckers who has been on the Hopkins varsity since eighth grade and starting at point guard for the last two seasons.

The 5-11, 150-pound Bueckers averaged 23.5 points per game for the Royals last season who finished second in the Class 4A state tournament despite her 37 points. Last season she made 54 percent of her field goals, 52 percent of her threes and 90 percent of her free throws.

Some games she scored more than 20 points by halftime. But Cosgriff said his wunderkind (she had a six to one assist to turnovers ratio) would “rather pass than shoot,” and when sitting on the bench is the Royals’ biggest cheerleader for teammates.

Fundamentally advanced for her age, and so versatile Cosgriff will even play her at center, Bueckers prompts raves when people talk about her. That starts with her coach who has been at Hopkins for almost 20 seasons, winning titles and building the Royals into a power. “She is the best I’ve had, and I’ve had some good ones,” Cosgriff said.

The roll call of great players in state history includes Nia Coffey who was terrific at Hopkins and now plays in the WNBA. Mention any legendary names to former Gopher guard and assistant coach Al Nuness and that won’t deter him from offering the highest praise to Bueckers.

“I think she will be the best women’s basketball player ever to come out of the state of Minnesota,” said Nuness who works at Hopkins as a paraprofessional.

Nuness has watched Bueckers practice and refers to her as “phenomenal”—yet he sees a player who will continue to improve. “I don’t think she is even close to reaching her potential,” he said.

Nuness predicted there will be a domino effect if Bueckers chooses Minnesota. “This is almost a must for us at Minnesota (to get her),” the former Gopher men’s captain said. “This girl is going to bring other (talented) girls.”

Worth Noting

Bueckers will have a busy offseason from high school basketball including the Boo Williams Girls Nike Invitational in Virginia this weekend where she will play for the North Tartan AAU team.

There is already speculation about how long Whalen continues her dual role of playing for the Lynx and coaching the Gophers. Will she retire from playing after this summer? There are a lot of priorities to balance between the two jobs.

The Gophers Athletic Department announced this week a goodwill tour stopping in nine communities in the state during May to visit with fans. The list of coaches from the department participating in the tour totals 14, but doesn’t include Whalen who will have preseason and regular season games with the Lynx during the month.

DeLaSalle class of 2019 point guard Tyrell Terry tweeted this week he received a scholarship offer from the Gophers. Iowa State and Stanford are among schools showing interest, too.

Birthday department: Twins first baseman Joe Mauer is 35 today and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor turns 77 tomorrow.

The Wild, down 3-1 to the Jets, will see a raucous crowd tomorrow night in Winnipeg’s Bell MTS Place. “It will be as loud as any building you’ve heard,” Fox Sports North commentator Kevin Gorg told Sports Headliners.

Gorg said defenseman Nick Seeler, called up from Iowa this winter, has been a surprise and played “phenomenal.” The 24-year-old has brought aggressive play to a defensemen roster thinned by injuries.

Gotta be a big fan to buy airfare at the last minute from Minneapolis to Winnipeg for Friday night’s game. Expedia quoted a cost of $976 yesterday for round trip leaving today and returning Saturday.

With his affection for NFL Draft maneuvers, it will be fun to see what Vikings general manager Rick Spielman comes up with later this month. As of now the Vikings will watch 29 other selections be made in the first round before their turn in the first day of the NFL Draft on April 26.

Athlonsports.com predicted in a mock draft the Vikings will select Notre Dame offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey. Spielman has shown a liking for Fighting Irish players in the past.

“McGlinchey may eventually take over at left tackle but he’s a starter right away on the right side and would fit in well to the Vikings’ scheme,” Athlon said.

The Vikings have single picks in the first, second, third, fifth and seventh rounds, and three selections in the sixth round.

A pro football source told Sports Headliners he expects the Vikings to prioritize offensive linemen and defensive backs in the draft, and probably select a running back.

Spielman was all but destined to have a career in football. His father was a high school coach in Ohio and the family lived within a few blocks of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

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Gopher AD Makes Impact on Staff

Posted on April 15, 2018April 15, 2018 by David Shama

It will be two years ago next month that University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler hired Mark Coyle away from Syracuse to be the Golden Gophers Athletic Director. During his time at Minnesota Coyle has hired several new coaches including in the high profile sports of football, men’s hockey and women’s basketball.

The latest appointment is that of Lindsay Whalen to head the women’s basketball program, even though she has no previous coaching experience. Earlier this spring Coyle hired Bob Motzko as men’s hockey coach and in January of 2017 selected P.J. Fleck to lead the football team.

Mark Coyle (photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications)

It’s evident that when Coyle considers staff hires he places an emphasis on coaches with high potential to recruit skilled student-athletes. Coyle does so with good reason because there’s no doubt football and men’s hockey are significant businesses at the U, and women’s basketball could some day become the first women’s program in the Athletic Department to be profitable.

Coyle knows without talented recruits the Gophers can’t dream of and chase championships in the high profile and revenue producing sports that also includes his men’s basketball program. “No mule ever won the Kentucky Derby,” former Gopher national championship football coach Murray Warmath used to say about the importance of talent.

Whalen, 35, is young enough to relate to high school players and has the platform of still playing for the WNBA champion Lynx. As a recruiter, the competitive Whalen should be able to get into living rooms and make recruiting pitches to outstanding prospects that her U coaching predecessors could only fantasize about.

“Want to some day play women’s pro basketball?” Whalen can ask. “Well, I can show you how to get there.”

The Whalen resume sparkles with accomplishments including leading the Gophers as a player to the 2004 women’s Final Four and becoming one of the WNBA’s best point guards and consistent winners. It’s this kind of background that has Minnesotans enthralled and intrigued by what awaits the Gopher women’s program.

Among those watching is Jerry Noyce, the former Big Ten championship Gopher tennis coach and Minneapolis area business leader, and a man whose name was pushed at least twice to become Minnesota’s athletic director including as successor to the infamous Norwood Teague who resigned in 2015.

“I would not be surprised if Minnesota women’s basketball is able to compete on a very high level—with UConn, Notre Dame, Stanford and all of those teams,” Noyce said. “I would think that she (Whalen) will be able to up the recruiting even more (than it has been). Get more really top players…and I just think she’s going to build a culture of accomplishment that’s going to play well against anybody in the nation.”

Recruiting successfully starts in the state of Minnesota where Marlene Stollings, Whalen’s predecessor, drew criticism. “The next coach needs to make home state relationships and recruiting the first priority!,” a Minneapolis area educator wrote via
email to Sports Headliners after Stollings left for Texas Tech. In his view Stollings didn’t follow that advice and he believes any Gopher women’s basketball coach who effectively recruits even just the metro area will “build a real nice team.”

With the 37-year-old Fleck—the second youngest head coach in college football—Coyle has a skilled recruiter at using social media and TV to build awareness of himself and his program. Fleck understands the culture and speaks the language of teenagers. Coyle knew that when he hired the energetic coach away from Western Michigan where his success prompted reviews from the New York Times and Sports Illustrated.

In late December Fleck announced his 2018 recruiting class, the first group he and his staff had almost a full year to target. The Gophers publicists called the 2018 class the highest ranked ever for Minnesota in the Internet era.

At 57, Motzko is old enough to be Fleck’s, or Whalen’s dad. That doesn’t mean he isn’t expected to recruit with passion and bring blue chip players to Dinkytown. Motzko spent 13 seasons building St. Cloud State into a nationally prominent program and along the way developed recruiting savvy and relationships including with state of Minnesota prep coaches.

Gopher hockey is tradition-rich and the state is loaded with talented high schoolers, but Minnesota hasn’t won a national title since 2003. This year the Gophers didn’t even qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Coyle and everyone else knows Minnesota can do much better.

“This should be a top four program nationally,” said a college hockey authority who asked that his name not be used. “It’s the best job in the country to recruit to.”

If Coyle is spot-on in his coaching hires of Motzko, Whalen and Fleck, the Gophers are on their way to better days on the ice, court and field because of upgrades in their athletes.

Worth Noting

Just speculation but it might be the only way five-star basketball recruit Matthew Hurt from Rochester John Marshall will end up as a Gopher in 2019 is if Minnesota coach Richard Pitino could convince Hurt’s father, Richard, to join his staff as an assistant coach. Richard has been active in high school and AAU coaching for years, and also groomed his son Michael, a Gopher junior next season. Pitino has a staff opening with the departure of another Minnesota native, Ben Johnson to Xavier.

Look for the Timberwolves to alternate Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins and perhaps others in guarding James Harden tonight. The Wolves, in the postseason for the first time since 2004, open the playoffs in Houston against a Rockets team with the NBA’s best regular season record, and led by Harden who averages over 30 points per game and is a favorite for the MVP Award.

The Wolves’ final regular season game last week on Fox Sports North Plus was the highest-rated ever for the NBA team on the regional sports network, generating a 7.5 household rating in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. In this market, 17,300 households represent one rating point. The peak rating during Wednesday night’s game at Target Center was 13.1—meaning over 226,000 households watched the dramatic finish of the Wolves’ win that earned the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference. (The previous record rating was 6.5 on April 14, 2004.)

For the season, the Wolves had a 2.6 average household rating on Fox Sports, a 78 percent increase in viewership over 2016-2017, and the highest since 2011-12.

Glen Mason on the Big Ten Network replay of the Gopher spring football game talking about Tyler Johnson who had two touchdown catches: “He’s as good as any wide receiver in the Big Ten.”

Quoting an email from former Gopher football player Jim Brunzell about his impressions of the game: “This team, barring injuries, should be much improved from last year’s squad!”

The Gophers, 5-7 last year, open their season August 30 at home against New Mexico State. The U won’t have the Vikings playing their final preseason game a couple of miles away at U.S. Bank Stadium, as happened in 2017 for the Gophers’ first game. The Vikings will be at Tennessee on August 30 as they close their exhibition season.

Maybe a planner in the Twins’ promotional department was clairvoyant about this spring’s wintry start. Yesterday’s snowstorm cancelled Minnesota’s home game with the White Sox where the first 10,000 fans in attendance were to receive a free Plaid Flap Cap.

The Gopher Big Ten champion baseball teams of 1968-69-70 will have a reunion on May 11-12 with social gatherings planned. Players from those teams will be introduced before the May 12 home game against Michigan State at Siebert Field. Gregg Wong, who was the public address announcer and official scorer for the teams, and Stew Thornley, the bat boy years ago, have also been invited to participate in the celebration.

Minnesota hockey legend Neal Broten will sign memorabilia including hockey cards and sticks (for various fees) on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. as part of the Triple Crown Sports Collectibles show at Southtown Center in Bloomington. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tickets are available for the August 2 Camden’s Concert at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. Jimmy Fortune, the former tenor of the Statler Brothers, is the guest artist for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation benefit named after Dave and Linda Mona’s grandson. The previous eight concerts raised almost $500,000, according to the Facebook page for Camden’s Concert.

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